The County Government of Tharaka Nithi has partnered with the French Embassy in Kenya on a school feeding program aimed at building the capacity of smallholder farmers and linking them to markets through schools.
The partnership, which also includes the World Food Programme (WFP) and the national government, covers Igambang’ombe, the lower parts of Maara, and the entire Tharaka constituency.
In a press briefing at Kathwana during a courtesy call by the French Embassy, Governor Muthomi Njuki said the program would enable the county to become self-sustaining and serves as a model for empowering farmers, dubbed “homegrown.”
“The school feeding program has been in place for a long time through donors and the government in schools, but we met and agreed with our partners that we do not have to feed our children food whose source we do not know. In this model, farmers will grow the food, and the government will purchase it from them and supply it to schools,” he said.
Governor Njuki noted that the county’s Ministry of Agriculture has already been trained under a program supported by the French Embassy and WFP to facilitate the aggregation of food before it is distributed to schools.
Through the “Buy Tharaka-Nithi, Build Tharaka-Nithi” initiative, the Governor believes the program can expand beyond schools to other entities once the farmers are empowered, with support promised from the county government.
French Ambassador to Kenya Arnaud Suquet stated that France has been a global advocate for programs ensuring that every child can access at least one meal a day, particularly children from urban poor and vulnerable families.
Through devolution, the Ambassador hopes the program can spread and serve as a model to be replicated in other parts of the country.
“We are excited about the sustainability aspect of this program. We are optimistic that it will build capacity and link farmers to markets through schools,” he said.
The crops targeted for cultivation under the project include green grams, millet, sorghum, beans, and cowpeas.
The Governor also noted that the program would soon be extended to Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) institutions in the county.
Others present at the meeting included Deputy Country Director Bai Mankay Sankoff, County Commissioner David Gitonga, Deputy Governor Wilson Nyaga Muisrael, and representatives from WFP and the National Council for Nomadic and Basic Education.
